Biscuit molding machine



July 25, 1939. o. KREMMLING 2,167,383

BISCUIT MOLDING MACHINE Filed July 22, 1955 INVENTOR 0 T o KREMMLING I BY a z fi' ATTORNEY Patented July 25,393Q a I s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BISCUIT MOLDING MACHINE Otto Kremmling, Hamersleben, Germany- Application July 22, 1935, Serial No. 32,505

In Germany July 26; 193% 9 Claims. (or. 107-8) This invention relates to machines for feeding It is an object of my invention to provide a dough or other plastic material into molds or biscuit-molding machine free from all of the forms carried by a rotary molding drum, for the above described disadvantages, which will commanufacture of biscuits and similar molded or pletelyfill'the molds of the molding drum under embossed articles, removing excess material from positive pressure so as to emboss the pieces 5 the surface of the drum, and removing the moldclearly and render the molded biscuits easy to ed pieces from the molds. It has to do more remove, without working the dough in the molds, particularly with biscuit molding machines in or distorting the finished biscuits. I which dough is fed between a rotating forcing Another object is to provide means for easily 1 roll and a molding drum to vforce dough under and positively adjusting the pressure at which 19 pressure into the pockets or molds of the drum. material is fed to the molds of the molding drum,

In machines of this general type heretofore to enable a wide variety of doughs to be handled l employed a stationary or reciprocatory scraper successfully. blade or knife-edge .has' been employed to sever. A further object of my invention is to produce the pieces in the filled molds from the dough a simpler, more economically built and easily 1 mass flush with the face of the molding drum, maintained machine by eliminating the need for and to scrape from the molding drum the excess any special means for pressing the biscuit take- 7 dough adhering to it. In these earliermachines off belt against the molding drum and thus also it has been impossible to press the dough firmly lengthening the life of the take-off belt. I

into the molds so as to fill them completely and The invention attains these objects by providg produce a sharply embossed biscuit. The sharp ing an improved scraper in co-operation with the edge of the cut-off blade used tended to lift feeding or forcing roll and the parallel molding the dough from the mold pockets and to permit drum for removing the excess dough from the the dough under pressure to flow past it from molding drum as the molds are filled. This imbetween the drum and the co-operatlng feed roll, proved scraper differs from the knife-edge herethus preventing enough pressure in the dough toi'ore employed in that its end section is blunt,

to fill the 'mold patterns completely. .Also, when presenting two scraping edges, and is thick a reciprocatory knife was used, its friction on the enough substantially to fill the space betweenthe molded P ces tended to W t d aw h p y forcing roll and the peripheral surface of the :mfrom the molds, and caused them to flow within molding drum, defining with the faces of the the molds and produce distorted biscuits. above-mentioned roll and drum a chamber into Furthermore, these relatively thin and incomwhich the rotating roll and drum force the dough.

pletely molded pieces were difilcult to remove By thus closing the gap between the su faces of from the molds by the usual means. tha a the roll and drum my novel scraper permits a 3-5 belt or band passing about a portion of the face high degree of pressurev to be brought upon the 0f e molding um and designed to adhere to dough in the mold just before it passes under the mo ded-p o Dick them from the mold the scraper, so that the dough is embossed Dockets In Order to Overcome h difficulty a sharply by the mold pattern and the mold is filled O emboss p ely the dough pieces n i ad completely before the edge of the scraper re- 40 quately filled. molds it has been necessary to use moves the excess dough flush with the face of a rubber roll in conjunction with the take-off th d j g k belt to P s t belt a s t face of the. My invention also permits variable adjustment molding d and into the molds in 1 to of the pressure at which dough is fed to the complete the embossing. This practice mateolds This may be effected by varying'the speed 4t rially reduced e life of the belts and s at which the forcing roll and molding drum are y Worked the dough in the molds- That driven, by adjusting the clearance between them, t dough in a mold was caused o fl w f Orin other ways. Thus a wide variety of doughs one end of the mold to the other circumferenof different consistencies maybe handl successtially of the moldi 2' (Hum Such working of fully by the machine.

5n the dough is det ental to i b n qualities Other features and objects of the invention m and results in distortion of the finished biscuit, appear during t course of t following some of the dough being squeezed out of therear scription: of the mold between the take-oil! belt and the In the accompanyin drawing forming apart drum, forming a thin tall at the bottom edge of this specification,

"of the biscuit. l Fig. 1 is a. diagrammatic sectional side eleva-.

tion of a biscuit molding machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the forcing roll, molding drum, and scraper of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional side view, showing a modification of the struicture of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 shows a modification of the invention in which two forcing rolls feed dough onto the surfaces of a molding drum, and in which the below and within the outlet of the hopper I is a feeding or forcing roll 4 mounted with its axis parallel to that of the molding drum 2 and adjustable to and away from the drum in journal blocks'slidable. in slots 5 in the machine frame, not shown. Below the axes of, and between the rolls 2 and 4 is a scraper B adjustably mounted in a slot '1 for movement toward or away from the plane of the axes of rolls 2 and 4. The end of the scraper 6 is blunt and of considerable thickness, so that its two edges may contact the surfaces of both drum 2 and roll 4, completely closing the passage between them.

Enveloping a part of the periphery of the molding drum 2 is an endless take-off belt 8, which passes around rolls 9 and I0, and at its discharge point passes at an acute angle over a knife edge II. A unitary take-off belt assembly comprises the driving roll 9, idler roll I0, and the knife edge II, which are mounted in spaced parallel side frames I2 rigidly connected together. This entire assembly is removably mounted in the frame of the machine, by a bolt I3 which is adjustably secured in slots I4 in the sides of the machine frame. Thus the side frames I2 carrying the rolls, knife edge, and take-off belt can be moved as a unit to the right for easy replacement or cleaning of the molding roll 2, and for easy repair or replacement of the take-ofi belt 8.

At the discharge point of the take-of! belt,

where it passes over the knife edge II, a revolving rod I5 frees the biscuits and discharges them onto a wire mesh conveyor I6 of known type,

which carries the molded pieces away for deposit justable scraper 6 is provided at its working end with a blade 6a, which is removable for substitution of scrapers of different thicknesses and shapes required with doughs of various kinds and consistencies.

The scraper blade 6a is of substantial thickness, and its working end is substantially rectangular in projection. The edge 61) of. the blade which lies in contact with the face of the molding drum 2, is cut away or relieved immediately behind the edge. in order to prevent an accumulation of scrap dough which might adhere to the blade vand interfere with its proper operation. The rectangular end surface of the blade closes the passage between the rolls 2 and d and opposes the pressure of the dough squeezed between the rolls so that it is forced into the molds 3 of the molding roll. By adjusting the position of the scraper 6 relative to that point at which the surfaces of the rolls are closest, the pressure on the dough may be varied. For instance, if scraper 6 is positioned close to the plane of the axes of the rolls, there will be less pressure on the dough, as less surface area of thedrum and roll will frictionally engage the dough com ing from the hopper I. With the scraper 6 farther away from the aforesaid plane, the pressure on the dough will be'greater, since the rolls will grip it more effectively.

In operation, the molding drum 2 and roll 4 of Figs. 1 and 2 turn toward each other in the direction indicated by the arrows, urging the dough between their surfaces and filling the mold pockets3. As the filled molds pass under the scraper edge 6b the excess dough is scraped from the molds flush with the face of the molding drum, and the filled molds are carried into engagement with the take-off belt 8. Belt 8 adheres to the bottoms of the pieces in the molds 3, and as the surfaces of the belt and drum separate at roller 9, the pieces are picked out of the mold pockets and are carried down and discharged onto conveyor Iii.

Fig. 3 shows a serrated forcing roll 4a instead of the smooth roll shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In this case the roll 4a and the drum 2 are so spaced that the scraper blade 6a touches only the circumference of the molding drum 2, and its opposite edge has been beveled slightly to be parallel with the surface of the forcing roll 4a. It is shown spaced therefrom slightly, so that a layer of dough remains on the forcing roll. With this adjustment of the blade and roll 4a the maximum pressure on the dough in the molds 3 will be less than in the machines of Figs. 1 and 2, as is desirable with certain soft tender doughs. In order to hold the scraper 6a in contact with the molding drum 2, a pressure screw H has been provided bearing on'the scraper carrier 6.

Fig. 4 shows a dough hopper I, below which a forcing roll is mounted in co-operative relation with an additional forcing roll I8. A molding drum 2 is positioned below the two forcing rolls and acts with forcing roll 4' substantially as in the machine of Figs. 1 and 3. A scraper I9 according to the invention closes the passage between the surfaces of rolls 4 and 2 and scrapes excess dough from the filled molds 3 and the surface of the molding drum. Scraper I9 is mounted on the machine for adjustment to and away from the roll 4 and drum 2 by means of a screw 20. When the scraper I9 is moved to the right to decrease the size of the compression chamber between the rolls 2, 4, and I8, the molding drum 4. is also moved to the right by means of an adjusting screw 2| carrying the bearing journals 22 for the axis of the drum. Thus the lower edge of scraper I9 is always in contact with the circumference of the forcing roll 4. A tension springv 23 connecting the scraper IS with the journal mounting 24 of forcing roll 4 holds the scraper always in proper position. A plate 25 between the other forcing roll I8 and the molding drum 2 closes the opposite side of the compression chamber. The plate 25 is pivotally mounted at its lower edge and touches here the circumference of themolding drum. Its upper edge engages the circumference of forcing rolll8 and is-held in this position by means of a tension spring 26. The spacing of the forcing 5 rolls- 4 and I8 can be adjusted by laterally shifting roll III, which is journaled in slotted bearing guides 21, and is adjustably held therein by means of a bell crank'lever 28, which carries a set screw 29 engaging a stop 30 on the stationary ,hopper I. A take-01f belt 8 envelopes a part of the periphery of the molding drum 2, and is driven and operates similarly'to that described above. I

The machine of Fig. .4 just described affords 5 a wider range of pressure upon the dough being worked than does the machine shown in Fig.

1, as the spacing of-the two forcing rolls may be adjusted in addition to varying the size of the compression chamber by shifting the location of go scraper element I9.

In each-of the various combinations described, the provisionof the novel scraper for the moldcarryingdrum, having a blunt end of substantial thickness acting as a barrier to'prevent or re- 25 tard. the squeezing of plastic material past the molds being filled, insures complete filling of the molds under any desired pressure. Thus cleanly embossed,'-undistorted biscuits'can be made from a wide variety of doughs. Complete filling 30 of the molds eliminates the need' for pressure rolls or'other means for pressing the take-oil. belt into the mold-recesses to engage and further emboss biscuits in inadequately filled molds.

. Undesirable working 'of the dough, distortion,

35 and the formation of tails on the biscuits are thus avoided.

Also, the greater mechanical simplicity of the apparatus for removing the biscuits from the molding drum makes possible the construction of the take-off belt and its driving and idler rollers in a. single unit easily adjustable and removable from the molding machine frame as described. 1

While I have described in some detail specific i embodiments of my invention which I deem to be new and advantageous, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown, as changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the .150 following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for molding biscuits and the like from plastic material, comprising a forcing 55 roll and a molding drum having molds recessed drum and the other lying adjacent the face of said forcing roll, whereby the end of said scraper roll, and the end of said scraper may be varied. A

3. A scraperfor a machine as claimed in claim 1 having its end cut oil to present two scraping edges, wherein the face of the scraper is recessed just behind that edge which lies in scraping relation to-the surface of the molding drum.

4. A machine for molding biscuits and the like from plastic material comprising in combination a spaced pair of forcing rolls mounted on parallel axes for rotation toward each other to feed material between them, a rotatable drum having molds in its peripheral surface and positioned below said forcing rolls to receive material from them, a stationary plate closing the gap between one of said rolls and said drum, and anabutment member closing the gap between the other of said rolls and said molding drum, that edge of said abutment member in contact with the peripheral surface of said drum adapted and arranged to scrape therefrom and from the filled molds therein all excess material.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein said forcing rolls are relatively adjustable to vary the gap between their peripheralsurfaces, and accordingly alter the pressure at which they feed material into the molds of the molding drum.

6. In a machine for molding biscuits and the like from plastic material comprising a forcing roll and a molding drum having molds recessed into its peripheral surface, said roll and drum ,40 mounted on parallel axes with their adjacent surfaces spaced apart and adapted for rotation toward each other to receive material and press it between them into the molds of said drum, in combination, scraping means between said roll and drum presenting a barrier to the flow of plastic material from between them and having two parallel scraping edges lying one in scraping relation to the periphery of said roll, the other in scraping. relation to the periphery of said 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the scraping means is mounted for adjustment to and away from the plane of the axes of said forcing roll and molding drum, and said roll and 65 drum are relatively adjustable to change the spacing of their adjacent surfaces, whereby the volume of the chamber bounded by said scraping means and the faces of said drum and roller may be adjusted.

8. Scraping means as claimed in claim wherein the body of the scraping means is formed or recessed to provide a relief immediately behind that scraping ,edge which lies in scraping relation to the periphery of the molding drum. 

